


More Than Just A Waiter

by a_bad_poem



Series: More Than Just A Friend [1]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: 1d, AU, Fluff, Gay, Harry Styles - Freeform, Liam Payne - Freeform, Louis Tomlinson - Freeform, M/M, Niall Horan - Freeform, One direction AU, Rich! Zayn, Slash, Waiter Niall, Zayn Malik - Freeform, company president zayn, directioner - Freeform, one direction - Freeform, zayn, ziall
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-03
Updated: 2015-01-03
Packaged: 2018-03-04 23:50:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,681
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3097157
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/a_bad_poem/pseuds/a_bad_poem
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>nιall ιѕ a poor waιтer, and coмpany preѕιdenт!zayn ιѕ a regυlar wнere nιall worĸѕ. loтѕ oғ ғlυғғ and adorĸaвle awĸwardneѕѕ. (also some background Larry. What more do you want?)</p><p>Or, the one where Niall is a forgetful klutz, and Zayn is quite the opposite.</p>
            </blockquote>





	More Than Just A Waiter

**Author's Note:**

> Not entirely sure where I'm going with this one, but as I go along it should all fall into place.

"Niall! Are you up yet?"

Niall smiled at the familiar voice of his mother, turning over on the couch. His stuffed goat (yes, goat. I am trying to be original) moved with him, going off the edge of the sofa with a quiet thump.

"Mum, I'm right in the next room. You don't need to yell," he groaned as he pushed himself up with great effort, sweeping his dirty brunette locks out of his eyes.

His mother poked her head out of the kitchen and into the living room, complete with Niall's couch, her mattress--not bed, mattress--an ancient computer for emergencies, a home phone, and a few old children's books from Niall's childhood, laying in a stacked pile in the corner. "Well I think I do, you haven't gotten up and this is the third time I've called you. You're going to be late on the first day of work."

"Oh, crap," Niall muttered under his breath. "Okay, yeah. I'm getting up now." He tossed the blanket aside and headed to the bathroom, but not before scooping his goat up and returning it to its rightful spot on the couch.

Niall skipped the shower, he had one last night, and combed his hair quickly. He took his uniform off its hanger--his boss, Louis Tomlinson, had told him to just hold on to it--and got dressed. When he finished he hurried into the kitchen, where his mother was cleaning her breakfast dishes.

"What'll it be, love?" She asked, pausing to roll her sleeves up to her elbows again, which had fallen.

"I can't stay, mum, I'm gonna be late," Niall said, grabbing his piece of toast waiting at his spot at the minuscule table. "Mum, you didn't need to toast this. It's fine."

His mom chuckled. "I can afford a couple slices of toast. Is that enough for you?"

Niall nodded. "Yeah, yeah. I really have to go now, so..." He grabbed a light sweater to throw over his waiter's uniform. "I get free lunch at work, I'll just eat a lot there or something."

"Oh, honey, wait. I want a picture of you," his mother smiled at him proudly. "Now, where did I leave my phone?" She wandered off into the living room.

"...You going anywhere today?" Niall sighed, jamming his head into his pockets.

"Might head down to the grocery store and see if anything is on sale," his mother called back, finally spotting her flip phone nearby the computer.

"But then you just buy everything that's on sale." Niall met her gaze as she came back into the kitchen, booting up her cell. "Please don't go. I will, sometime soon. Tomorrow, or while I'm on break."

His mother sighed, watching her phone's screen light up. "Fine, honey. But only if you tell me everything that happens at work today."

Niall rolled his eyes, impatiently glancing at the clock again. "I'm a waiter at a restaurant, not an astronaut. Nothing's gonna happen."

"You never know. Smile!" His mother brightened up as she snapped a quick photo of her little boy, all grown up at 18, finished high school, and ready to go to work, his uniform complete with black dress pants, a white long sleeve collared shirt, a black button-up vest, and the cheapest black dress shoes he could find, since it wasn't included.

He felt like a fool.

Yes, this was Niall's life. Living with his poor mother in an 3-room apartment in a poor part of London, now skateboarding down the bumpy road whilst eating a now cold slice of toast to a new job he had only gotten because his best friend, Harry Styles, had recommended him. Harry had worked there before and knew the manager well, convincing him to take on Niall.

Niall hopped off his skateboard and pushed through the glass doors of St. Louis' Restaurant, his only mode of transportation (besides his feet) in hand.

Niall didn't understand the name. Louis was quite short of being a saint, and they weren't in St. Louis, so...

Whatever.

"Horan! You're late," Louis observed, strolling over to the younger boy.

"Um, yeah. Sorry." Niall scrambled to think of an excuse. "Um--my mum, she wanted a picture, couldn't find her phone," he sputtered out. Oh, Lord. He could do better than this, couldn't he?

Louis nodded his head thoughtfully. "Hm, alright. Only because I'm quite a mother's boy myself. Get to work, now. Go."

Niall nodded his head and took off towards the back, dropping a quick and quiet 'thank you.' He propped his skateboard up against a wall in the 'Employee's Only' room, where extra uniforms and other workers' junk lay.

It was still fairly early in the morning, around ten, and Niall got off work at seven. So he worked about eight hours a day, not including breaks and those times when no one seemed interested in the quaint red brick building.

The restaurant was more of a café, the most popular items on their menu being coffee, tea, and various types of pastries, like donuts and strudels. They did, however, have many types of soups, seafood, and meats on their menu, especially around dinner time, when all the couples would come in and Louis would retreat into the back to barf.

During Niall's first hour he was quite clumsy, tripping over his own pants and feet, not clarifying on some people's orders, mixing table three's order with table seven's, and other similar slip-ups. Louis wasn't sure if he wanted to keep him. But, he decided to give him tomorrow. It was, after all, his first day.

At about half past noon Niall gave up on maintaining his cheery attitude and plastered-on smile, practically mumbling every word he said. The only bout of energy he showed was when Harry slipped in and took a seat right near the kitchen, where Niall was fetching food to deliver. Niall spotted the curly haired boy, quickly giving a fresh bowl of chicken noodle soup with a side of garlic bread to some old guy before jogging up to his friend.

"What are you doing here?" he hissed, for some reason feeling the urge to whisper.

Harry didn't, responding in his normal voice, "What do you mean? This is a public place, I can come in anytime I want. Well, as long as you're open." He smiled, folding his arms over the table. "So, what do you recommend to eat?"

Niall groaned. "Harry, I'm busy working."

Harry nodded. "I know. I'm helping you by giving you more work."

"Wipe that stupid smirk off your face before I punch it off you."

"Ooh, harsh. Can I help it if this atmosphere is insanely romantic and your boss is insanely hot?" Harry drawled, nodding his head in Louis' direction.

Niall glanced at Louis, who's slender fingers were working their way across the keys on the restaurant's piano. Mozart, maybe. Niall then spun around slowly, fully taking in his workplace for the first time. He had to admit, it did seem pretty cozy: chandeliers hung from the ceiling and candles were lit on every table, with cushioned chairs and booths by the windows, and of course Louis' piano playing blanketing the room.

Niall sighed, turning back to Harry. "You used to work for him, you weirdo," he muttered, shaking his head. "Can I just get your order?"

"Used to," Harry pointed out. "Um, I'll get a small chai tea."

"Thanks," Niall huffed and scurried off to the kitchen. When he came back out to take more orders, he saw that Louis was sat with Harry. They were talking quietly, laughing occasionally. He noted the odd silence the room seemed to carry without Louis' piano, and realized his boss had been playing all day. He hadn't even noticed.

Harry left and as Niall approached the table to clean it up, he spotted ten pounds. He knew a simple chai tea wasn't ten pounds, and he had been told he could keep all tips, so pocketed the money and collected the bill.

He had an incredible best friend.

They had met when Niall first moved to London. It was very close to St. Louis', actually, just a couple buildings down. Niall was in a thrift store, looking for a skateboard. He selected one and got in line, only to find that he was only a couple pounds short. A tall, curly-haired boy his age had tapped him on the shoulder, offering him the money he needed. They had kept in touch after that, staying good friends. Though Harry was quite popular he liked quiet time, and seemed to come to Niall for that.

Nothing much happened after that. On his way home Niall went to the grocery store, which is when he realized he should probably start bringing some clothes to change into after work. He picked up some more bread and, using some of the money Harry had tipped him, bought cookies to treat his mother.

When he got home his mother was looking through a ridiculously old album from when Niall was a baby and they still lived in Mullingar.

"Hey mum. Have you eaten supper yet?" he questioned, planting a kiss on his mother's temple. 

"Not yet, I've been waiting for you. Soup okay?"

Niall nodded his head. The two went into the kitchen, Niall setting the table as his mother fired up the stove. Quite literally, they had an old gas stove.

Their kitchen was a tight fit, the little space filled with their table and chairs, the fridge, mini freezer, oven, and counter.

"What happened at work?" his mother asked immediately, cracking open the can with the manual can opener they owned.

"Um, not much. Harry stopped by," Niall said, deciding to pull out the cookies as a surprise for dessert.

They sat down to eat in comfortable silence. Niall pulled out the cookies after placing their dirty dishes in the sink, and his mother thanked him profusely. This was all he wanted, to be able to make his mother happy.

Until the next day.


End file.
